A Mouse In My House

Through the years we have had many animal manifestations in our home, usually coordinating with some major phase of construction in which various areas of our home have been open to the outdoors. Believe it or not, we have actually dealt with more birds in our house than mice. Yes, I said birds. I would call them Hawks with 20 foot wing spans, who terrorized us! My son, usually responsible for rescuing his frightened mommy and sisters, would tell you that they were small sparrows and an occasional robin. He might also add that they were more afraid of us than we were of them but I would not believe that for a minute. There have been other oddities including a squirrel who chewed through the wiring of our dining room ceiling fan and almost caused an electrical fire. The squirrel had actually made his home in the eave above the dining room window and managed to burrow his way into the attic. Several times I was frightened by his presence on the window screen but thankfully he never made it into the actual dining room. Two weeks ago we had a shrew. Not the first time we have encountered this species. This week it is a mouse. At first we thought that the mouse must be very small because he has been hopping in and out of all the traps set for him, feasting on ham, cheese, peanut butter, dog food and dog biscuits while eluding our two dogs for the past week. This morning we decided we had "bigger issues". The mouse trap behind the bookshelf was mangled. The incentive treat was gone and the metal trap was twisted and sprung. Yet, there was no mouse. We decided that what we were dealing with is in actuality a giant mouse, able to terrify our dogs and defy the odds of death while reaping the rewards. So, my husband set off to the hardware store in hopes of finding a trap that would capture this defiant giant mouse. He brought the new and rather expensive trap home, baiting it with peanut butter, and setting it directly in the assumed path of the mouse. Previous traps have all been tripped within a half hour of putting out the bait. The new trap has been out for hours and not so much as a nibble. Go figure.